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“Woman,” I whispered as I unbuttoned my jeans and slid them from my hips. She gasped, her gaze zeroing in on my cock as it sprang free. “You’re Goddamned beautiful.”

The startled look on her face lasted only a moment before she broke out in a smile, taking a tentative step toward me, reaching out to place her hand on my chest over my heart. I covered her hand with my larger one, pressing her palm more firmly against my skin.

For several seconds, we looked at each other, searching each other’s faces for answers to questions neither of us seemed ready to ask. Starting -- for me -- with “Will you let me keep you after this is over?”

Brielle smiled and stepped away from me, sliding her panties from her hips and stepping out of them before moving onto my bed. Lying on her back, she turned her head to look at me as I followed her helplessly.

I covered her with my bigger body, leaning down to kiss her softly as I ran my hand up her thigh to cup her ass. She let out a soft moan against my lips and angled hers to deepen the kiss.

She clung to me like she was afraid I’d vanish on her. I had no idea if she’d stay, if she’d let me keep her. Or if we’d even want to be near each other by the time the next crisis hit, but for now, I needed to give her as much pleasure as I could to tempt her. Maybe, if I fucked her long enough and good enough, she’d forget what an asshole I was when she first came here.

She arched into my touch as I shifted my mouth to her breast, kissing the gentle swell and circling her nipple with my tongue. If I’d had any doubts about her wanting to fuck me again, the way she gasped and dug her fingers into my hair erased any doubt.

I wanted to take it slow, to savor the woman surrendering to me so deliciously. There was a driving need inside me to get this right. I had the feeling this woman would come to mean more to me than I could put a figure on, and I needed to lock her down. The sooner, the better.

Settling myself between her thighs, I tunneled my fingers through her hair, kissing her as thoroughly as I knew how. She reached for my bicep, fingers digging in like she needed the anchor. Beneath me, she was warm and yielding, the press of her breasts against my chest making my cock jump. I wanted to memorize every note of her, the stuttered intake of breath when I rolled her nipple between my fingers, the arch of her back when I trailed kisses down her stomach, the way she kept reaching for me any time I moved my weight from her.

I reached for the nightstand, pulling out a condom and handing it to her. She gave me a questioning look before accepting the packet. Once she had it open, she reached between us to roll the condom over my cock which jumped at her touch.

Jesus. Her palm was hot and soft, her fingers trembling, but she didn’t let that stop her. I felt her confidence growing with every second she kept touching me. Like she wanted to assure herself this was real and not some elaborate trap.

I kissed her, slow and deep, and when she moaned into my mouth, I braced myself over her so I could watch her face as I slid inside. She was tight, even wetter than before, and I felt her legs tremble against my hips as I went in, inch by inch.

“Mághnus,” she whispered, and her arms wrapped around me like she would never let go. She tilted her hips, bracing her feet on the mattress as she met each of my slow, measured thrusts with her own. Her gaze firmly locked on mine. The color of her eyes was witchy-bright, amber flecks catching fire in the lamplight.

I held my body still, her hips already pushing up to take me deeper. She grunted, arching her back and baring her neck, trying to entice me to move faster. I would. Just not yet.

“You feel fuckin’ perfect,” I said next to her ear.

She made a shaky sound, so fleeting and lost I thought I’d imagined it, and shuddered around me, scoring her nails down my back.

“Don’t stop. Please.” Her needy whimper made my dick pulse even harder. I loved being the man to bring her to this state. Loved knowing I would be the one to push her over the edge and still catch her as she fell over the cliff into bliss.

It took every bit of self-control I had not to lose myself and pound into her like a Goddamned animal. Instead, I started slow, grinding in deep and watching her face every inch of the way. She bit her lip, brow furrowing with each thrust, her nails digging into my arms as she held on. I loved the sound of our bodies, the slap of skin and the ragged breathing. Fuck, I wanted to hear her scream my name again.

She was so open with me, so fucking honest. There was no pretending. Her pussy quivered and milked me every time she shuddered. Every time she gasped. She bucked against me, her cries growing desperate each passing moment.

I kissed her throat, nipping a line up to her jaw, then her mouth, kissing her again long and deep. She whimpered into my mouth, her arms wrapping tight around my neck like she wanted to anchor herself to me forever.

“Mághnus!” Her breath hitched in her throat, her eyes going wide. I fucked her harder, knowing she was close, and it was OK to let myself go just enough to ride the edge of my control.

I reached between us, circling her clit with my thumb. Brielle let out a strangled half sob, half scream. Her pussy squeezed around my dick, all hot velvet and need. Her back bowed, thrusting her tits against my chest as she came so hard, her face turned red. She sucked in a breath, her eyes wide and screamed again.

It was too much. The sight of Brielle coming undone under me, fucked with my brain in the best way. I fucked her with desperate, needy strokes. Her cries went hoarse, her nails leaving hot marks down my back. She clenched, hard, and I finally lost my hard-fought control. I slammed my hips into her, driving my cock deep as my orgasm hit with nuclear force. Every muscle seized, and I groaned her name into her neck, barely aware of anything but the way she took everything I had to give her. I’d never come so hard in my life.

I stayed there, buried in her still-quivering pussy. After a minute, her legs softened, sliding off my hips, and she let out a shaky laugh that made my chest tighten. I rolled us gently so she was sprawled over me, her hair wild. I smoothed it gently away from her face. She clung to me, breathing hard, her cheek pressed to my shoulder.

It was a long while before I could muster the energy to clean both of us, but I managed. Afterward, we lay tangled together under the covers. Brielle curled against my side, head on my shoulder. I let her settle, my hand stroking her back in a slow glide, feeling the fine line of her spine, the rise and fall of her breaths. Her breathing evened out, slow and deep.

For a long time, I watched the shadows move on the ceiling, not sure what the fuck I was supposed to do now. But I knew I could stay here forever, with her asleep on my chest, her hair fanned over my skin, her body pressed close enough that I could feel her heartbeat.

For the first time in years, I didn’t feel angry. I didn’t feel hunted, or haunted, or hungry for something I could never have. I just felt… peaceful. And for me, that was a fucking miracle.

Sometime later, I woke to the sound of Brielle’s phone buzzing on the nightstand. My first instinct was to kill it, but she was already rolling out of my arms, blinking sleep from her eyes. Morning had barely broken and just enough gray light filtered through the blinds to silhouette her as she sat up, hair wild from where I’d had my hands in it half the night, holding her still for my kiss.

She checked the screen, then looked at me. “It’s Lana.”

“Answer it,” I said.